


Into the Deep Unknown

by StratoCat



Series: Northern Kings [2]
Category: Finland - Fandom, Finnish - Fandom, Finnish Music RPF, Jens Johansson - Fandom, Lauri Porra - Fandom, Matias Kupiainen - Fandom, Rolf Pilve - Fandom, Stratovarius, Timo Kotipelto - Fandom, power metal
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 11:50:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2308679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StratoCat/pseuds/StratoCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valkyrie has just started her job working on the tech crew for Stratovarius’ Nemesis tour. She’s made some new friends in the crew and now… they’re off to Brazil!</p><p>POV: First Person (Valkyrie Christopher)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Deep Unknown

**Author's Note:**

> My knowledge of tech work is still limited. Hopefully I won’t botch anything. The points of view will change per chapter (as you may have noticed). I hope it won’t be too confusing. The pairing may be obvious but I will leave it unknown, for the fun of it. Yes, the title is a reference to the Stratovarius song Deep Unknown from the Polaris album. Again, the title of the series has nothing to do with the band I named it after (perhaps the people but not the band itself). Feedback is always welcome ^~^ (I’m very terribly sorry for uploading this two days later than I said I would. I had technical problems. Probably need a new computer.)

I glanced around the plane, taking in the surroundings. I noted the rows consisted of eight seats, two on each side and four in the middle section. I was sandwiched between Michael and Timo. The fourth man in our row was a total stranger, an old man who had fallen asleep before takeoff and was now leaning against Timo. I chuckled a little at the humorous sight. Timo, clearly uncomfortable, jerked away from the old man, and in the process, flung his hair in my face. Immediately, I blew the blonde hair out of my face, causing it go flying into Timo’s face. Caught by surprise. he pushed the old man away. We held our breath to see if the old man woke up but to our delight, he snored away, his head leaning out into the aisle. Timo straightened himself and organized his hair.

“Well, THAT worked.” he chuckled. “Sorry for flinging my hair in your face.”

“It’s okay.” I replied. We sat there for a while in awkward silence, while everyone else in the group chatted around us.

“So…” Timo started, but trailed off.

“Umm…” I more or less replied. The conversation was then put on pause when Michael suddenly shoved a deck of cards in my face.

“Wanna play a game?” he grinned childishly. We played for at least two hours, if not more. We play every game we knew until we ran out of ideas, both the official games and ones we improvised on the spot. Eventually, the meal cart came around and we ended our card game tournament. Michael then turned to flirting with a young lady from our tech crew who sat across the aisle, so I turned to my meal.

“A ladies’ man, eh?” Timo’s comment was so sudden that I nearly dropped my fork. But regardless, I was happy to talk to him.

“Haha, so he thinks.” I replied, a little laughter escaping my lips.

“Well, he IS a young guy with looks and personality to boot.” Timo shrugged. For a moment, I thought he was bored of the conversation. I felt disappointed, not to mention a little awkward, until I saw the wry smile on his face. Seeing him smile like that was like seeing a whole new side of him. Ordinarily, his smile was sweet, with a matching gentleman-like personality. But now he looked devilish. Not in a dangerous way but in an inviting, and nearly seductive, way.

“I used to be like Michael when I was his age.” Timo said, that devilish smile still on his face as he recalled his past. He laugh a little to himself. “Hehe, those were the days…”

His smile then morphed back into its sweet form, his flash of seductiveness gone.

“So.” he said, turning to face me. “What made you want to be on the tech crew?”

“I grew up listening to Stratovarius. I loved Finnish power metal the moment I heard it. I started playing acoustic guitar shortly after, then electric guitar, along with the violin lessons my parents forced on me. Don’t get me wrong, I like playing violin, but I adore playing guitar.” I smiled a little when I spoke of my beloved instruments back at my apartment in Helsinki, except for my ‘travel violin’ in the overhead bin. “Anyways.” I said as I realized I had gone a little off topic. “I went to some local concerts in San Fransisco and did tech work for them. Their jobs were pretty generic though, nowhere near as specific as this job. After I got my degree in music, I decided to move to Helsinki and here I am.” I finished and looked at Timo, hoping I didn’t bore him. As always, he flashed his sweet, gentle smile.

“You came very far, literally and figuratively, and all I can offer you is a tech job.” Timo said. “I hope it won’t bore you.”

“I’d be very surprised if it bored me. I love music, I love tech work, and I love Stratovarius. I couldn’t have it any better than this.” Timo blushed at my response and looked down at the floor shyly.

“Thanks. Getting a compliment like that… it means a lot to me and the band as a whole.” Timo gave me one more of his signature smiles before he grabbed the blanket supplied by the airplane, wrapped himself in it, and went to sleep.

I was then tapped on the shoulder by Michael, who had apparently become bored with flirting with the young lady across the aisle.

“Are you from Finland?” Michael asked. I shook my head. “America then?” I nodded. “Cool! You’re the only American here, so you get to be special!” He gave me a pat on the back. “I’m from Kemi.” Immediately, I recognized the name of the city.

“Isn’t that where Sonata Arctica is from?” Michael nodded excitedly.

“Bingo!” He ruffled my hair and laughed. “So what’d you talk to Timo about? You guys seemed to be having a deep conversation.” Michael deepened his voice comically when he said ‘deep conversation’.

“Nothing much. Work related stuff.” I replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Uhh well… heh.” Michael rubbed the back of his head nervously, “To be honest, I wanted to talk to you.” I looked at him with a little suspicion.

“Why?…” I asked, unsure if I would like the answer.

“You’re the only one in the tech crew that I haven’t had a chance to really talk to.” he replied.

“There are plenty of other girls you can flirt with. Missing one or two won’t hurt you too much.” I said jokingly. Michael laughed a little in response.

“True true.” he said through his giggles. “But you’re the only girl here, besides Mira of course, who doesn’t flirt. And I’m not just referring to myself. I’m saying you don’t flirt with anyone, at all. You get what I’m saying?” I nodded.

“I’m here because I need a job and Stratovarius’ music means a lot to me. I didn’t come here to flirt. Simple as that.” I replied nonchalantly. I still wasn’t quite sure what Michael was trying to say.

“Well, I just want you to know that I really respect that.” I chuckled a little at his statement. It seemed like a silly thing to respect. “No, really! I’m serious!” Michael said. “I really respect you.”

“Thanks, Michael.” I replied as my laughter subsided. “That’s very nice of you.” Michael ruffled my hair and laughed heartily, then grabbed his blanket and curled up under it.

“Good night.” he mumbled to me, then close his eyes. I yawned a little in response and decided sleep was a very good idea. I grabbed my blanket, tucked myself in, and in not time at all, fell fast asleep.

~ - ~

The cabin lights turned on and shook me from my slumber. I smelled plane food. It must have been breakfast time. It wasn’t a pleasant smelling breakfast but enough so that I was interested in it. I was a little hungry, after all.

I didn’t open my eyes. I could tell the light was extremely bright, considering it was shining brightly enough for me to see it even though my eyes were closed. I reached up to rub my head, which for some reason felt unusually heavy. I massaged around my head but suddenly stopped. I didn’t move my hand further or remove it from atop my head. There was something odd about my hair. There was an area on my head that changed texture abruptly. I forced myself to open my eyes. I could barely see. I attempted to move my head but it was still weighted down.

“The hell?…” I muttered to myself as I squinted in the light. “Why do they have to make the lights so damn bright?” I grumbled quietly until I could see more clearly. “Well I can see. Sort of.” I rolled my eyes. That was when I noticed it. The blonde hair hanging in my face, laced with my own black hair and dark red streaks. It took me all of ten seconds to realize whose hair it was.

“The fucking hell?!” I looked up as far my weighted down situation would allow and saw Timo, still fast asleep, his heading resting on top of mine. I stopped a little. I stared at him for a few seconds. He looked a little messy with his hair tangled and falling all over the place but he was peaceful. He had a childlike defenselessness, almost like a hidden innocence. He was enchanting to look at in this state.

I shook myself from my self made trance. My head hurt like crazy and my priority was to make it stop, not to stare at the man who was making my head hurt. I moved Timo’s head away as gently as I could but accidentally pushed his head against the old man in our row, who was still sleeping.

“Whoops.” I whispered to myself but didn’t bother to do anything else. I was peacefully eating my breakfast when Michael suddenly grabbed me and gave my an awkward hug. I was about to push him away but then I hear him snoring quietly, and decided to let him rest. Still surprised, not to mention a little flustered, I gently peeled him off of me, but accidentally woke him up.

“What in the?… Why is it so bright in here?” Michael yawned and rubbed his eyes sleepily. “Oh, morning Val.”

“Morning.” I replied.

“Did I do anything weird in my sleep? I’ve been told that I can do some crazy things.” Michael mumbled groggily.

“No.” I lied. I figured it best to not bring it up.

“Oh, good.” Michael said as he stretched. He then turned to his breakfast, which the stewardess had left on his tray table. I did the same. I had barely taken a bite when I heard frantic movements next to me. I turned and saw Timo, a confused and slightly horrified look on his face as he scooted as far away from the old man as his seat would allow him. He quickly brushed himself off and shuddered.

“The hell was THAT about.” he muttered. “How did that happen?” I quickly explained it to him while he tried to organize his tangled mess of hair. When I finished explaining, he looked calmer. “Sorry for falling asleep on you.” He looked very ashamed of himself and wouldn’t look me in the eye.

“It’s okay. Accidents happen.” I wanted to pat him on the back or make him feel less embarrassed but I couldn’t bring myself to do so. I left the situation as it was and returned to my meal. I had barely finished eating when the high pitched voice of a flight attendant came through the intercom speakers.

“Please fasten your seat belts, we are beginning our descent into Sao Paulo.” Some of the crew members began to talk around us excitedly, waking other crew members and staring out the windows anxiously.

“Have you been to Sao Paulo?” Timo asked.

“Yes, when I was fifteen.” I replied.

“Wow, so lucky!” Timo had a surprised look on his face. “Did you like it? Have you returned since?”

“I loved it but I never had a chance to return until now.”

“Well, hopefully you’ll enjoy it with us.” Timo replied, a sleep smile on his face. We looked towards the outer rows and craned our necks to see out the windows. We were in the clouds now, surrounded by white and silver shades, until suddenly the city of Sao Paulo came bursting into view. Landing just couldn’t come soon enough.

~ END OF CHAPTER ~


End file.
